This invention relates to novel complex enzymes which lyse, that is, disintegrate and dissolve the cell wall of various microorganisms, and this invention further relates to a process for the production of such complex enzymes.
It is known that yeasts and Chlorella etc., are cultured on large scale to utilise the cultured microorganisms in foodstuffs and feeds, and also that bacteria and fungi are cultured to use the cultured microorganisms for the recovery of useful substances such as antibiotics, protein, nucleic acid, amino acids, vitamins and enzymes from the culture. However, the cell wall of yeasts and Chlorella are so strong that their digestibility is poor in the use as foodstuff and feed. Accordingly it has been proposed to treat the yeasts and Chlorella with such an enzyme which digests the cell wall of these microorganisms, in order to improve their digestibility. Moreover, it has been proposed to treat the culture of bacteria or fungi with a cell wall-lysing enzyme in order to facilitate the extraction of useful intracellular substances from the cultured microorganisms.